Telling Our Stories

IVAW Members are speaking out about their experiences in the military. They are shedding light on the stigma around mental health care, the economic factors that motivated their enlistment and the questionable methods of waging war in our current era.

LA Chapter President Cameron White spoke about the economic drivers compelling our foreign policy, the usage of drones, and questionable practices at Guantanamo Bay with 'The Young Turks' recently. "We have suspended habeas corpus for those that aren't U.S. citizens...our country is by and large numb to that...we need to reevaluate that values system and how we treat people that aren't U.S. citizens whether they are combatants or not" said the former Marine.

Curtis Sirmans, member of IVAW's Volunteer Organizing Team just recently separated from the Army and described the challenges of asking for medical care from the military to HuffPost Live. "Soldiers are encouraged by their lower level leadership and their peers not to get help because of stigma. If you go to get help you get chastised by your peers. It really discourages people from getting help", said the former Infantryman. Curtis is now a committed leader in IVAW and has been instrumental in our testimonial collection process at Fort Hood. Check out the clip here.

Bay Area Chapter leader Jason Matherne also had an opportunity to speak to Huff Post Live recently and described the economic circumstances motivating his enlistment in the Navy. Jason said "I came from a working class family...I paid off my [college] debt by serving. A lot of people I served with were in the military because they were trying to get money for college or paying back money for college." Jason explained that the current enlistment model is at its root an economic draft "You have recruiters going into neighborhoods on the low side of the socioeconomic scale promising everything under the sun..." The video is here.

We are getting the word out there that other veterans and service members are not alone in this fight! Stigmatization for seeking care for mental health, and recruiting practices that target working class communities and communities of color have no place in our society. If you are a Post 9/11 veteran that wants to speak to these issues and more, let us know at [email protected].